Brad Wanamaker is giving the Boston Celtics the exact kind of value they needed this offseason
The Boston Celtics knew that it was going to be difficult to find good contributors in free agency, because they have almost no money to play around with. Danny Ainge would have to exercise every option to try and get the value they need, and they may have already found exactly what they were looking for.
Ultimately, time will tell, but Brad Wanamaker is an ideal signing for the Celtics right now. They get him on a rookie minimum, which means it is the cheapest roster spot they could possible have.
From that minimum contract, they are getting a player with experience, even if it may not be in the NBA, and you get an incredibly motivated player. Wanamaker left money on the table to come to Boston, and that alone gives him an extra dimension of motivation, and eliminates most locker room concerns.
Wanamaker has been waiting a long time for this kind of opportunity, and the Celtics need bench players that will be ready to battle for every single minute that they want to play on a team they know will be competing for a championship.
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Wanamaker may never really work out well, but there is nothing to lose in giving him an opportunity to have an impact this season. If that roster spot was taken up by virtually anyone else, they would be spending more money, and there would probably be even less upside than what Wanamaker offers.
He is also the exact kind of guard/wing hybrid that the Celtics have embraced. There is potential for him to have an impact on both ends, with a decently well rounded game. There may be free agents out there that are much better than what Wanamaker can offer, but none of them would even be close to his price tag. And, any player close to his price tag, would not be able to offer as much as Wanamaker brings to the table.
The Celtics are getting a player that wants to prove that he can keep up in the NBA, and it is costing them nothing to see if he can pull through in a way that he clearly believes in. There is always going to be more competition in the NBA free agency, and it is too easy to give out a bad contract.
There is no way that Wanamaker can hurt the Celtics, he leaves them with more cap relief than any other option, and he has played long enough to have an understanding of what he needs to do in order to have a good impact.
The Celtics are going to have to figure out a lot of things with not so many minutes to go around on the bench. The reality is that there will be multiple players on this roster that end up doing nothing, and just sit on the bench waiting for garbage time.
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The biggest fear is that happens to a player the Celtics invest money in, because it becomes a complete waste in that situation. With Wanamaker, if he ends up sitting on the bench for the entire season, the amount of money sacrificed will be insignificant, leaving them with no regrets no matter how his season transpires.